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Feds eye new natural-gas source

The DOE will conduct experiments in methane harvesting from the Prudhoe Bay region. |
Reuters
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“Many experts believe that methane hydrates hold significant potential to supply this clean fossil fuel,” Kong said. “At present, the technology does not exist to produce methane economically from hydrates. This trial is an important first step in analyzing a production technology with potential both to produce this resource and to sequester carbon dioxide in the process.”

Johnson said work is still being done to calculate how much more gas would have to cost in order for hydrate extraction to be economically viable. But as the government does the fundamental research to prove that commercial extraction is viable, the industry will take over the research, Johnson said.

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“If there were some disaster that related to gas shale, where there was a clampdown on production, hydrate could be in the position in a few years of picking up the slack there,” Johnson said.

The DOE has been conducting research into methane hydrates since at least 2005, although the resource has been on the radar of the industry for years.

Hydrate would often be found as companies drilled for oil and gas around the Gulf, Smith said, and research was initially done to ensure that hydrate didn’t become a hazard to drilling. Last winter, the department drilled a well on an ice pad in Alaska, and this winter, scientists will return to the well to conduct two rounds of tests to verify their theories on how methane hydrates will perform.

First, they’ll attempt to exchange molecules of carbon dioxide with the methane found in the hydrates. If that’s successful, the carbon dioxide will be stored in the ice while the methane can be harvested. Then researchers will work on depressurizing the methane hydrate formations to gather data on the rate at which methane is released.

All the work will be done on a gas hydrate field trial well in the Prudhoe Bay region that will be constructed around late December, Smith said. The experiments are expected to last about 40 days each.

The test this winter will be the longest data collection into methane hydrates ever conducted. Tests performed by Japan in recent years have yielded a week of data at most, Smith said.

“This investment is going to make a massive leap in terms of our experimental understanding of how hydrates behave,” Smith said.

There are now huge deposits of natural gas made available with modern drilling techniques. Vast deposits are located in Texas, PA, NY, Ohio, North and South Dakota. Worldwide there are vast deposits in Europe, China, Israel and elsewhere. This resource is a domestic, clean source of energy that can easily displace imported oil. It is capable of reducing pollution dramatically and, in the case of diesel fuel can reduce greenhouse gases by 95%. This energy resource eliminates European deopendence on Russia for energy The vast access to natural gas has caused chemical companies to relocate back into the United States. Terminals intended to import natural gas products are now being retrofit as export terminals.

It is a resource that everyone including environmentalists should be ecstatic about and yet it is ignored or attacked. Billions are earmarked for wind, solar and ethanol / biofuel which are the worst most expensive energy possible with zero chance of measurably reducing pollution or carbon emissions. Private development has increased production in the US to a point where this country has a 100% domestic supply of NG. NG can lower the trade deficit by $400 to $700 billion a year. It can eliminate dependence on imports of energy.

Experimenting with hydrates is fine. Developing the resource of offshore NG and oil is practical now. Millions of people are unecessarily unemployed because we have an administration with an agenda that gives preference to corrupt system of political kickbacks from Green Slush Funds rather than ensuring a clean affordable supply of domestic energy.

Obama has little left he can run on. He can't run on the economy due to his collosal failures; he cannot run on Hope and Change, transparency, reaching across the aisle or any of the other reforms that he has shown were promises he never intended to keep, and he certainly doesn't dare mention green energy which is now widely recognized for what it is, a slush fund to reward supporters with billions with kickbacks of millions to Obama and other politicians.

Wonderful news - and the proper way to finance the research. Crony socialism as practiced by obama has now been shown without a doubt to be nothing more than kickbacks to contributors. Kickbacks that produce nothing of value but create funds that can be contributed back to obama's campaign coffers. The mafia would be proud.

Pure research is where government excels. This modest program may open up vast potential for American energy independence from foreign oil sources. On the other hand government should not give billions to some favored company to start drilling in a way that may end up not to be economically feasible. Let free enterprise determine when and if the technology actually warrants massive investment.

When energy becomes as commom as salt nations will end their struggels to maintain control over countries that produce oil energy. America may well be on the path to having all the energy it will ever need within it's own borders. We aill be able to keep our wealth at home and have the funding to build a better society.